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Instructor Doug Anderson works with students in the back of an ambulance while the “patient” Sabrina Rodriguez lays on the gurney during an EMT certification class in the Olton Volunteer Ambulance Association Monday, July 10, 2023, in Olton, Texas. (Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune)

Rural Texas — already starved for health care — faces a dearth of volunteer first responders

The number of volunteer firefighters has dropped sharply nationwide, a trend that appears to be gripping rural Texas communities.


The Olton Volunteer Ambulance Association in Olton.
Jimmy Brooks at the Olton Volunteer Ambulance Association Monday, July 10, 2023, in Olton, Texas. (Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune)
An Olton city map hangs in the Olton Volunteer Ambulance Association Monday, July 10, 2023, in Olton, Texas. (Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune)
Jose Martinez practices CPR during an EMT certification class in the Olton Volunteer Ambulance Association Monday, July 10, 2023, in Olton, Texas. (Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune)
A truck drives through Olton Monday, July 10, 2023, in Olton, Texas. (Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune)

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